
Modeling Relationships 139
5.3 Multiple Correlations
In order to model more than two assets, using an approach where we had to
correlate each asset manually with every other (as with IF statements) would
take a lot of time. For example, with six assets, there are 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 =
15 relationships. In those cases of many-to-many correlations, it is useful to
build a correlation matrix, which shows the correlations among the various
assets. Figure5.9 shows a possible correlation matrix for six assets.
Each cell of the matrix shows an assumed correlation between a pair of
assets. (Blank cells are zero—that is, independent assets.) Notice